A simple method for simultaneous determination of aspirin and paracetamol in treated municipal sewage water in Vadodara

Abstract

A clean method for simultaneous determination of pharmaceutical compounds in treated sewage water has been developed based on UVVis spectrometry. This study is a part of larger work for determination of pharma products in water bodies in Vadodara, India. We report in this article data for determination of two drugs: aspirin and paracetamol. These drugs, used as model compounds, were separated from dilute aqueous solution by solid phase extraction(SPE). Macroporous beads of polystyrene divinyl benzene polymer or an anion exchanger were used for pre-concentration followed by spectrophotometric determination. Experimental parameters were optimized. The developed method was used for determination of the drugs in water sample collected from a sewage treatment facility. Presence of these drugs was not detected at the detection limits of the methods, viz. 0.1ppm. The drugs were also not detected in an HPLC method up to concentration of 0.039ppm.